The Los Angeles Dodgers’ postseason ended in abrupt fashion with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
Milwaukee advanced to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, while the Dodgers turned their attention to the offseason and the health of their two-way star.
On Wednesday, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman addressed reporters about Shohei Ohtani’s status after a season marked by recurring physical issues.
Surgery is not on the table for Ohtani right now, Friedman said. “He’s resting. He got assessed. Had a lot of different stuff, knee was bothering him. An unfortunate game of whack a mole, the bicep area.”
Friedman described the year as an ongoing series of minor setbacks that shifted between Ohtani’s knee and biceps.
The injuries limited his availability on the mound; he last pitched on July 3 and did not appear as a pitcher during the postseason. Despite those limitations, Friedman expressed confidence in a return to the rotation.
“I fully expect him to pitch next year,” he said.
Ohtani’s regular-season production remained substantial even as he managed the issues. In 139 games he hit .275/.377/.512 with 30 home runs and 81 RBI.
On the mound, across 14 starts and 85 2/3 innings, he posted an 8-2 record with a 1.79 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and 95 strikeouts.
Those numbers reflected the dual threat that has defined his time in Los Angeles, though the physical interruptions curtailed his full workload.
The postseason offered a different picture. Ohtani went 5-for-26 with a .192/.323/.308 slash line, one home run, three RBI and 10 strikeouts across 32 plate appearances in eight games.
His struggles mirrored a broader offensive downturn for the Dodgers, who managed only a 63 wRC+ during the playoffs.
The three-run homer he hit in Game 4 of the NLCS provided a brief spark, yet the series ended with Milwaukee celebrating at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers now enter the offseason with clarity on the surgical front and an expectation that Ohtani will resume pitching in 2027.
Whether the rest Friedman outlined proves sufficient to restore the full two-way version of the player will shape Los Angeles’s plans heading into next season. For now, the organization has ruled out an operation and placed its faith in recovery through rest alone.
